Thursday, September 20, 2012

ARSENIC IN RICE
There are a lot of food safety stories you need to know about today: Consumer Reports has done a study that found possibly dangerous levels of arsenic in some brands of rice, especially rice from Texas, Louisiana and along the Gulf coast, where cotton used to grow, and pesticides were used on it.  Arsenic causes cancers in adults, and brain damage in babies. Your safest bet is rice from California, or Asian rice. Some state attorneys general are asking the FDA to put limits on the amounts of arsenic that's acceptable in foods.

TOXIC LEVELS OF ARSENIC IN BABY FOOD RICE CEREAL
High levels of arsenic may be hiding out in your baby's rice cereal. Maura Possley, with the state Attorney General's office in Illinois, says all of the rice cereal they tested had traces of the toxin.  
The Attorney General is warning parents and urging them to limit their child's consumption of rice cereal to one serving a day. Inorganic arsenic (that comes from pesticides) is considered a toxic chemical and could lead to serious health conditions.  Attorney General Lisa Madigan is calling on the FDA to adopt national standards that limit inorganic arsenic in food, especially in baby food.

SPINACH RECALL
If you're a little lax about cleaning out the fridge, you may still have some spinach that's involved in a recall. It expired September 16th. You're looking for Fresh Selections brand spinach you bought at Kroger. It may be contaminated by Listeria, so if you still have it, you're supposed to take it back to Kroger and they'll give you a new package. (1-800-KROGERS or http://www.kroger.com/recall for more information.)

6 YEAR-OLD NASHVILLE GIRL ON THE ELLEN SHOW TODAY
This little 6 year-old girl from Nashville is about to make your day! Her name is Kaliah King and she loves to give motivational talks to people. Ellen DeGeneres is going to have Kaliah on her show today because she saw part of THIS VIDEO.
The Ellen show is on NewsChannel 5 at three today, but you can hear highlights from Kaliah's Ellen Show appearance on Mix 92.9, tomorrow morning about 7:13! (See Kaliah King's YouTube Page)

METRO SCHOOL BOARD, STATE OFFICIALS TO MEET ABOUT FUNDING LOSS
The Metro School Board is hoping to meet with state officials this week to talk about the state's decision to withhold millions of dollars in funding to the district. We're not getting three-point-four million dollars for our schools, because the board ignored the state's order, twice, to approve the Great Hearts charter school.

MAN GETS "POPCORN LUNG" MONEY
59 year old Colorado man Wayne Watson is being awarded 7 million dollars for the debilitating lung disease, known as popcorn lung, that he got from smelling his freshly popped microwave popcorn, every day before he ate it, for years. he says the maker and store chain that sold it should have posted warnings that an ingredient in the butter flavoring could kill you. They do, now. 

VANDY HOSPITAL E-R ALREADY SEEING INCREASES IN KIDS' INJURIES
With high school sports back in action across the state, the Emergency Room at Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt has been extra busy. They've seen an increase in kids with concussions, heat exhaustion and other injuries. Vandy offers sports safety clinics for free, and we'll post the information on the mix929.com NEWS page, so you can find out how to set up one in your neighborhood. 

WELL-ORGANIZED CROOKS ROB NASHVILLE STORES IN MINUTES
There's apparently a really well-organized group of criminals in our area who break in and get out fast, and with a fortune. The crooks hit a Best Buy Store in Murfreesboro, smashing a car into the store, using bolt cutters to get through a store security gate, and were in and out in 3 minutes, with 100-thousand dollars worth of iPhones, iPads and other electronics. This is at least the fourth Best Buy they've robbed that way. 

HENDERSONVILLE TEEN ACCUSED OF MURDER: TRIED AS AN ADULT, RAPED AS A CHILD
Zachery Davis, the 15-year-old Hendersonville boy accused of brutally killing his mother last month, then setting the house on fire will be tried as an adult. His attorney says Davis has had problems his whole young life including being raped when he was 10. The attorney didn't say who the attacker was.

PEOPLE TRAPPED ON RIDE
A day at the amusement park turned into a nightmare for about 20 people who were trapped 300 feet in the air... for THREE HOURS ... at Knott's Berry Farm in Southern California. The ride was started back, and everybody got their feet back on the ground just fine.

YOUR TAXPAYER DOLLARS BEING SPENT EVEN IF NO NHL GAMES
If the NHL cancels the entire season because the ongoing labor dispute, it's gonna cost you some taxpayer money. Metro Nashville's government has signed a contract to pay four-point-two million dollars to Powers Management to manage the arena, even if no games are played.  The NHL has already canceled several preseason games; the Predators first regular season game is scheduled for October 2nd. 

FURBY LEAPPAD2, EXPLORER ON TOYR R US HOT TOYS LIST
And what are the hot toys the kids will be asking for this year? Toys R Us is predicting it'll be the new, updated talking Furby and the latest LeapFrog learning toy. The company's "Fabulous 15" toy list also says Nintendo's new Wii U game system and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles playset will be hot. Toys R Us, Wal-Mart and K-Mart have all started promoting layaway type plans to put toys on hold.. and pay 'em off in time for Christmas.

FRIDAY IS NIGHT MARKET AT NASHVILLE FARMER'S MARKET
Once a month the Nashville Farmer's Market opens at night for "Night Market." You can buy produce, eat at the restaurant or a food truck, listen to live music, or shop at the flea market, tomorrow night, starting at 6:30 near Bicentennial mall.

MARCH OF DIMES URGES PREGNANT WOMEN TO GET FLU SHOTS
By now you're seeing reminders to get your flu shot. The March of Dimes wants to remind you that it's especially important for pregnant moms to be vaccinated, because the complications from flu can be deadly - for mom and baby. They also point out that although moms are notorious for sharing utensils and glasses with their kids, it's a very dangerous practice during flu season.

OCHOCINCO TAKES ANGER MANAGEMENT CLASSES
Football's former "Ochocinco" says he has enrolled in anger management classes.  In an interview with Showtime's "Inside The NFL"  Wednesday, Chad Johnson said he was trying to find out how he can channel his anger.  Johnson's divorce from reality TV star Evelyn Lozada was also finalized on Wednesday, a little over a month after his arrest on a domestic battery charge. 

HILLSBORO HIGH STUDENT KILLED AT HOME
Hillsboro High School is mourning the loss of a student shot and killed Wednesday inside his North Nashville home.  Police say 17-year-old Demarcus Jordan-Ellis arrived home Wednesday afternoon, talked to three black males inside a gold car that was parked in the driveway, invited them inside, then was shot to death.  The family is offering a two-thousand-dollar reward for information leading to an arrest.
 
GRAMMY NOMINATIONS CONCERT COMES TO NASHVILLE, MAROON 5 TO PERFORM
Maroon 5 is heading to Nashville to perform at the Grammy Nominations Concert.  The group is the first to be announced for the special televised event, which will be moving to Nashville after three years in Los Angeles.  The move has been seen as a nod to the country music genre, but the choice of Maroon 5 suggests pop and rock will also be represented.  The Recording Academy also announced that the event will be led by longtime host LL Cool J.  Last year, the Grammy Nominations Concert included performances by Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj.  This year's one-hour live telecast will air on December 5th on CBS. The Grammy awards ceremony will be held in Los Angeles on February 10th. 


BRILLIANT TAILGATE FOOD IDEA FROM A MIX 92.9 LISTENER
So, you're at a tailgate party. Someone's cooked chili. You don't need BOWLS! No, you open your individual Frito bag, and dump the chili in there on top of it. Add some grated cheese and onions and you have a meal with no cleanup!